Run
by jbn42
Summary: Wash can't really remember the last time things went this sideways, but at least she has a friend along.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Thought I'd have a bit of fun with Wash and Elisabeth, give them an adventure and give poor Jim and Taylor a bit of worry time. Another already-completed, previously published on LiveJournal story. Context of the story is the same as 118 Days Later, A Phoenix By Any Other Name, and Wait, What? **Disclaimer wise**, I just wrote this because I enjoy writing, no copyright infringement intended, and I certainly do not own Terra Nova.

_In skating over thin ice our safety is in our speed._-Ralph Waldo Emerson

"Damn it, Corporal, I said _go_. That's an order. Get that man back to the colony. They can send another team for us." As Alicia is shouting into her comm, she's firing her sonic weapon at a very pissed off carno.

The beast just destroyed the rover she and Elisabeth were in, and then it chased them through the trees. Luckily, they'd been able to grab weapons and their packs before running. They are now holed up in a cave, the massive thing roaring in frustration at its inability to reach its prey. Elisabeth is behind her, but she isn't cowering. She's crouched down, also firing a sonic weapon at the carno. Despite the situation, Alicia can't help but grin a little. Looks like she's rubbing off on her friend.

"Wash, please. Let us come get you." Mark Reynolds usually isn't one to beg, but he already feels ill at the thought of abandoning the woman he thinks of as an older sister and the woman who is set to become his mother-in-law in just a few short months.

Alicia fires at the carno again. "Mark, go. Don't make me tell you again. We'll be OK, we're in a cave less than a click to the east of our wrecked rover. You have to get Dr. Warner to Terra Nova. According to Dr. Shannon, he's stable now, but that may not hold. Just radio ahead to them and tell them where we are and that we need help. And tell Na-, tell Commander Taylor and Shannon that we're all right."

The injured scientist is why they're out here. Early this morning, they received a distress call from one of the outposts, one about four hours by rover from the colony, Outpost Seven. The outpost was manned by just two scientists, Dr. Warner, a botanist; and Dr. McCall, a biochemist. They'd been at the outpost working on ways to use some of the local flora to replicate some of the medicines they need that can no longer be gotten from the future.

Before dawn, Dr. Warner left the outpost to gather more plant samples. Usually, the area around the outpost in question isn't populated with predators, but apparently, a nyko had shown up. It attacked Dr. Warner. He somehow managed to get away and get into the outpost, barring the door, but his leg was badly injured.

The distress call came in this morning as Alicia and Nathaniel were about to leave on their usual morning perimeter walk. Guz and Mira had just shown up to watch Gracie, Alicia and Nathaniel's two-year-old. Instead of walking the perimeter, she and Nathaniel headed for communications. After getting the sit rep from the scientists, they agreed that Alicia and Reynolds would head out with two rovers. Reilly also came, as did Elisabeth Shannon, due to Dr. Warner's injuries.

They got to the outpost fine, chased off the nyko and, after taking some time to get Dr. Warner stabilized, got the two badly shaken scientists loaded into the rover with Reilly and Reynolds. Alicia and Elisabeth followed in the second rover. Alicia told Reynolds to push it on speed, as they were going to be cutting it close to get back to the colony before sunset.

Less than half an hour into the trip home, the thick trees that cover the terrain back to the outpost slowing them down, a carno, the one that now has them trapped in a cave, came at them when they emerged from the forest. It attacked her rover, so she started to fire at it out the door. That, of course, did nothing for the carno's mood. What it did do was make the damned thing focus only on them, giving Reynolds a chance to get away.

The carno came straight at their rover, and despite all attempts to get out of the way, it managed to hit them and throw the rover a decent distance away, back towards the trees. While the carno came at them, they were able to grab their respective packs and the guns stored in the rover. They made it into the thicker trees before the carno caught them, and after several minutes at a flat out run through the woods, the pounding and crashing they heard telling them that the carno was close behind them, they found the cave.

"OK, Wash, we're going. Reilly's trying to raise the colony right now. But Wash, as late as it is, even if they leave soon, they might not…"

Alicia cuts him off. "I know, Mark. We'll be all right. Now go, and be careful, kid."

"Yes, ma'am. Reynolds out." She can almost hear the salute in his voice.

Suddenly, with the voice in her ear gone, Alicia realizes that it has gotten a lot quieter. "Elisabeth, stay put." She starts easing her way towards the cave's opening, trying to see if the carno is really gone. The things are as dumb as a bag of hammers, so she's pretty sure it is. Unlike the slashers, the carnos just don't seem to have the capacity for strategy.

She peers cautiously around the edge of the cave entrance, and in the distance, she sees the carno stomping away. She lets out a sigh of relief and gives Elisabeth a wave to let her know they're in the clear.

"Alicia!"

Elisabeth's voice sounds alarmed, so Alicia turns to face her. She's coming over with a worried look on her face, already digging in her pack. "Sit down, Alicia, now."

"Elisabeth, what's wrong?"

"Look at your arm!" Elisabeth looks at her like she's insane, pointing at her left arm.

Alicia glances down, and then she blinks and laughs. "Well, shit."

Elisabeth rolls her eyes. "Alicia, I know there was an adrenaline rush, but really, that's a six-inch gash gushing blood down your arm."

Moving a little deeper back in to the cave and sitting down on the ground, Alicia snorts. "More like four, and that's not gushing. I've had blood gushing before. That's dripping."

"Seriously? You're going to argue about the rate of blood flow?" Elisabeth pulls out a suture kit, an incredulous look on her face.

"Stitches?" Alicia shakes her head. "Come on, Elisabeth. It is _not _deep enough for stitches. I mean, I can barely even feel that there's a cut there."

Elisabeth gives her a look that says, in no uncertain terms, that Alicia is to stop arguing. Alicia sighs, deciding that the battle isn't worth it. As Elisabeth cleans the cut with alcohol, Alicia has to hold back a hiss at the sting, making Elisabeth snicker a little. "Thought you could barely feel a cut there, Lieutenant."

Alicia just glares at Elisabeth, who goes to work putting the stitches in. After working silently for a minute, Elisabeth asks, serious now, "Mark was worried that a rescue team won't get here before nightfall, wasn't he? That's when you said 'I know' and told him to be careful."

Hesitating because she doesn't want to worry Elisabeth, Alicia eventually sighs again and says, "Yeah. I don't see how they can make it. It's going to be dark in a few hours. Even if they're already on their way, they probably can't make it here in time to find us and get us all somewhere safe for the night."

Elisabeth finishes the last stitch and takes a deep breath. "So, we just stay here all night? In this cave?"

Alicia hesitates again, making Elisabeth look even more worried. "What? Alicia, what?"

"I don't think we can stay here."

Elisabeth blinks. "Why not?"

"Because," Alicia walks back towards where they'd positioned themselves to shoot at the carno, pointing at the floor of the cave. "Something was eating in here. Eating something that used to be alive."

Elisabeth looks at what Alicia is pointing towards, and she pales. There is a pile of bones there, picked clean. Clearly, a carnivore of some sort has been spending time in here, probably another nyko, judging by the tracks.

"Between that and the fact that the carno might come back, we have to get out of here." Alicia turns back to Elisabeth and puts her hands on Elisabeth's shoulders. "How fast can you run, Elisabeth, and for how long? I need you to be honest with me."

Obviously still thinking about having to leave their little protected haven, Elisabeth swallows hard. "I run on a treadmill four days a week for forty-five minutes."

"How far do you make it in forty-five minutes?" Elisabeth gulps, and Alicia squeezes her shoulders. "This is important, Elisabeth. How far?"

"Usually around seven miles."

Alicia does the math in her head. "Wow. That's about a six-and-a-half minute mile. That's good, Elisabeth. Do you think you could keep to that pace or something reasonably close to it for ten to twelve miles?"

"What? Why? I don't know, Alicia." Elisabeth is starting to look flustered.

"Because, it's between ten and twelve miles back to the outpost. That's where we need to go. That's where we'll be the safest. But we have to get there. So, I need to know if you can do it, Elisabeth."

She shakes her head. "Alicia, I don't know. Maybe ten. Twelve would be a push at that pace."

Alicia is silent for a moment. Then, she starts to rummage in her bag, finding a large wrap bandage. She holds it out to Elisabeth, who gives her a confused look. "Wrap my arm, Elisabeth. We need to cover the smell of blood as much as we can."

As Elisabeth carefully covers the cut on Alicia's arm, Alicia can feel that her hands are shaking. She lets Elisabeth finish with the bandage, and then Alicia turns to her again. "You can do this, Liz. I can run and shoot at the same time, and all you have to do is stay on my six. I swear. You can do this."

After a beat, she nods. "OK, Alicia. You lead, and I'll keep up."

They both shoulder into their packs, and after Alicia checks that all her weapons are ready to go, she picks up the sonic rifle again. Elisabeth has the smaller sonic gun in a holster on her thigh, and she gives Alicia a game smile. "Ready?" At another nod from Elisabeth, Alicia simply says, "Run," and they take off, heading back towards Outpost Seven as quickly as they can.

As they run, Alicia silently prays that they don't run into any more predators. As she concentrates her energy on keeping moving, Alicia can't help but think about Nathaniel and Gracie. She pictures them in her mind, Nathaniel standing there holding Gracie on his hip and Gracie smiling, her light blue eyes shining and her black hair pulled back in bouncy pigtails. If only to hold her baby girl again and to feel Nathaniel's arms around them both, she'll keep running.

_Terra Nova_

"Son of a bitch. Get Mira, Shannon, Dunham and Carter here, now!" Nathaniel sends the young soldier manning communications out. "Reynolds, you still there?"

"Yes, sir." Reynolds' voice is clearly upset. "I'm sorry I left them, sir. Wash ordered me to leave them."

Nathaniel rubs his hand across his eyes. "Son, she was right. You just keep heading home. We're going to be heading out to meet you in the next fifteen minutes. We'll cross paths, probably in an hour and a half. When we do, I'm going to have Dunham switch places with you, so you can go back for them with us."

"Yes, sir. And thank you, sir."

"Be careful, Reynolds. See you soon. Terra Nova out." As he ends the connection with Reynolds, Nathaniel looks up to see the people he summoned come into communications. He takes less than a minute to explain the situation, a minute during which all the color drains out of Shannon's face.

"I'm going with you." Jim speaks emphatically.

"No, Shannon, you're not." When Jim starts to argue, Nathaniel holds up his hand. "I need you here for your family, Shannon, and I need you here for mine." He walks over to Jim and takes him aside. "Gracie isn't going to understand this. One of us always stays here; she's never had a night without at least one of us. But I have to go. The best people for OTG problems are me, Carter and Mira. We'll get Reynolds on the way, let Dunham and Reilly bring the scientists back."

"He left them," Jim growls.

"Because Alicia ordered him to, and she was right. She can look after Elisabeth, but that injured man needs to get back here. Don't be hard on the kid, Shannon. He's going to be your son-in-law soon, and he's a good man and a good soldier."

After a moment, Jim nods. "Is Gracie at preschool?"

"She is. Just tell her I went to get her mama, and that we'll both be back soon. And hug her for both of us, Shannon." Nathaniel's whole body is tense just thinking about Gracie being frightened. He shakes his head and steps back from Jim. He looks over at Mira, Carter and Dunham. "Mira, Carter, you OK with coming with us for this?"

They both nod without any hesitation. "Good. Everybody gear up. We leave in ten minutes."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer wise**, I just wrote this because I enjoy writing, no copyright infringement intended, and I certainly do not own Terra Nova.

Alicia and Elisabeth move through the trees as quickly as they can. Alicia is on point, but, at Alicia's direction, Elisabeth is tight behind her, not wanting to hang back too far and make herself an easy target. Alicia doesn't like not having someone on the six, but she knows that Elisabeth just isn't qualified or trained for that.

By Alicia's estimation, they've already covered at least six miles. To Elisabeth's credit, she's barely breathing hard. The terrain is slowing them slightly, but it's actually easier to manage on foot than it was in the rover. The trees are large and the ground uneven, so the biggest concern, outside of large, carnivorous things trying to eat them, of course, is taking a bad step and breaking an ankle.

Alicia can't pretend that this is easy for her. She doesn't run as much as she used to, and she definitely hasn't run with gear in quite some time. After Gracie's birth, while she was diligent about resuming her strength training and has gone back to sparring with the soldiers, she has to openly admit that she hasn't been quite as disciplined about endurance training. She frowns, knowing she needs to rectify this. She'd never admit it to Nathaniel or any of her soldiers, but she really, really hates running.

She's also uneasy. She feels like they're being watched, but she hasn't been able to spot any predators. Frowning, she wonders briefly if they shouldn't have stayed in the cave. She blinks, immediately dismissing the thought.

Pretty much the only thing she can think of that's worse than being trapped in a cave by a carno is being trapped in a cave by a nyko, since the damned nyko fit _inside _the cave. Even if they'd be able to get a shot or two off at one, a nyko would kill them in seconds in a cave like that. They would've been sitting ducks.

Alicia looks back briefly to check on Elisabeth. The smaller woman is starting to look a little tired, so Alicia decides that it's time for a short rest.

Holding up a hand, Alicia motions for them to stop. Elisabeth does, looking at her in alarm. Alicia quickly shakes her head. "Just a quick water break, Elisabeth." She pulls a bottle from her pack and hands it to Elisabeth.

Looking visibly relieved, Elisabeth takes the bottle. As Elisabeth drinks some water, Alicia scans the area, looking for predators or any signs that the nykos have been here. She feels certain that there's more than one, and she also, for some inexplicable reason, feels certain that they're nearby. She sighs, suddenly making a mental note that this area has to be reclassified as being populated by predators, that it wasn't just a one-off.

Also, after thinking about it for a moment, she takes the second rifle she has off of her shoulder and loops the sonic rifle in its place. She checks the shells on the rifle, sees that there are several ready to go, and she holds it at the ready. As far as Alicia is concerned, anything else that comes at them today is going to die.

A moment later, without commenting on Alicia's change in weaponry, Elisabeth hands the water back to her. "Thanks. How far do you think we've gone?"

Alicia takes a drink herself, swallowing before she replies, "At least six miles, maybe more. We've been going about forty-five minutes. You holding up OK?"

Elisabeth nods. "Fear is an excellent motivator, Alicia. How are you doing?"

Alicia smiles, though she guesses that it's a little pained looking. "I'm all right. Been a while since I had to run with a pack, but I can manage it. Of course, the soldiers aren't going to be pleased."

Elisabeth gives her a questioning look, so Alicia goes on, "I've now got something to add a lot more of to my training regimen, both for me _and _for them. Weighted running. Fun for all." They both laugh, and, stowing the water back in her pack, Alicia asks, "Ready to go again?"

"Lead on, Lieutenant." They head off, unaware of the multiple pairs of eyes watching them intently, stalking them through the trees.

**TN**TN**TN**

As predicted, about ninety minutes after tearing out the colony gates, Nathaniel, Dunham, Mira and Carter meet up with Reynolds, Reilly and the two scientists. After a quick stop for Dunham to switch places with Reynolds, they're moving again. Unfortunately, Nathaniel knows that there's no way they'll reach Alicia and Elisabeth before nightfall. He lets out a breath as he thinks about it.

"She knew, sir." Reynolds sounds even more upset now than he'd sounded earlier.

Nathaniel glances at Reynolds before turning his eyes back to the terrain in front of the rover. "Knew what, Corporal?"

"She knew there wasn't enough time, sir. She knew we wouldn't be able to get back to them before nightfall."

Nathaniel nods. "I'm not surprised."

"I didn't want to leave them, sir. It was the hardest thing I ever did." Reynolds' voice is hardly louder than a whisper, almost inaudible in the noisy rover.

"Corporal, she gave you a direct order, did she not?" Nathaniel knows Reynolds is beating himself up, and they need him focused.

"Yes, sir, but…"

"No buts, Corporal. When you're given an order by a superior officer, you follow it. Period. Despite the fact that she's my wife, if we're in a military situation, I give her an order, she follows it. She may not like it, and she may not agree with it, but she follows it. Orders are orders. Are we clear, Reynolds?"

"Yes, sir." Reynolds is silent for a moment, then, his voice lighter, he says, "So, she never argues with orders she doesn't agree with, sir? Wash?"

Nathaniel has to swallow a laugh. He can't hide his smirk, though. "I never said she didn't argue with me. I just said she follows orders. I didn't specify how much time might elapse between the order and the following of it."

Reynolds laughs softly, and Nathaniel is happy he was able to pull the kid at least a little bit out of his guilt over leaving Elisabeth and Alicia behind. "So, sir, what are we going to do about nightfall?"

"Outpost Six is only an hour from here. It's about twenty minutes out of our way, but I can live with that. We'll be about an hour from their last reported position. It's already going to be close to dark by the time we get there, but it's our best option."

Reynolds nods and goes silent again, watching the terrain out the door. Nathaniel knows he doesn't have to tell Mira and Carter, in another rover right behind them, to head to the outpost. They'd discussed it over the comms before they met up with Reynolds, Reilly and the scientists. Carter had fought him on it at first, but it was actually Mira who talked him down, basically pointing out that if they got attacked and damaged by predators, they'd be no help to Alicia and Elisabeth.

Nathaniel can't help but smile bemusedly. In the few years since the Sixers came back to Terra Nova, switching their allegiance from the Phoenix Group back to the colony, the one person who has surprised Nathaniel the most is Carter. Mira has had her moments as well, in particular the slow build of her relationship with Guzman. But Carter's friendships with both Shannon and Alicia were something Nathaniel never would have predicted.

In a way, the friendship with Alicia makes sense. They were both strong leaders and good soldiers for their causes, both comfortable being second-in-command even though they both had the skills and the experience to be the one in charge. They also both have moments where they seem to communicate almost entirely via sarcasm.

As for Shannon, that friendship does surprise Nathaniel. He knows Shannon initially was downright belligerent with Carter, unusual behavior for the usually upbeat sheriff. Carter appeared to harbor a similar strong dislike for Shannon. It seems, however, that Carter and Shannon managed to bond over their shared respect for Alicia and over their clear adoration of Gracie. When it comes to winning people over, his young daughter is a pro.

He frowns for a moment. Even though he knows she'll be all right with Shannon and his kids, Nathaniel is still worried about her. He wasn't exaggerating when he told Shannon that Gracie had never had a night without at least one of them there. Until today, since she was born, he and Alicia have never taken an OTG trip at the same time.

What he hasn't told Alicia is that when she's gone, Gracie is usually pretty scared, so much so that she won't sleep in her room. On those nights, even if he manages to get her to fall asleep in her own bed, within thirty minutes of the house going dark, she'll have slipped into his and Alicia's room and crawled into bed with him, plastered to his side, her favorite stuffed dinosaur toy clutched in her hand. He can't imagine that this little experience will do anything to improve that. If Alicia comes home with any serious injuries, he dreads having to explain that to Gracie.

He shakes his head, taking a deep breath and admonishing himself not to borrow trouble. Until such time that he actually sees otherwise, he has to assume that they'll both be fine when they get to them. As far as he's concerned, he and Alicia have been through far too much to have it end this way. She'll be fine. Any other outcome, to him, is completely unacceptable.

**TN**TN**TN**

Alicia and Elisabeth are in sight of Outpost Seven when Alicia's suspicions that they were being watched are confirmed. From not far away from them, behind them and to their right, she hears the unmistakable call of one nyko to one – or more – of its buddies.

She's not certain why they waited this long to attack, but if she had to guess, she'd say it's because the terrain here has opened up, giving them fewer opportunities to find shelter from the predators. She curses under her breath, damning the things for being so much smarter than the carnos.

She can tell that Elisabeth heard the dinosaur call too, as the doctor actually gets even closer to Alicia as they continue to close the distance between themselves and the outpost. Not breaking stride and actually speeding up a little, Alicia hisses, "Sprint time, Elisabeth, and if you can, get your gun out."

A moment later, Alicia has to smile when she hears the distinct sound of a sonic weapon charging. Her smile drops when she then hears a gasp, and Alicia catches movement out of the corner of her right eye.

She spins and spots one of the nykos as it shoots out of the trees, heading straight for them. Elisabeth skids to a stop at her side, her gun up and covering Alicia's back. Alicia drops down, settling the rifle into position, and she takes aim. At first, she tries to go for its head, but realizing that hitting a moving target that small might be difficult – and recognizing that a miss could equal death – she aims at its chest and fires.

The rifle shell leaves a gaping hole in the creature's chest, and it shrieks as it falls. At that moment, Alicia hears another one moving towards them. She might be able to get a shot off, but if there's a third, she knows that could be it. Either way, she wants Elisabeth out of harm's way.

She straightens up. "Elisabeth, time to go for the outpost. Now."

"What about you?"

Alicia gives her a small shove. "We don't have time to argue. I'll be right behind you. Go!"

Elisabeth heads off towards the outpost gate, only about fifty feet away. She moves quickly but cautiously, her sonic weapon still up and ready. Alicia swings back towards where she heard movement, and she mutters, "Shit." Two nykos stand there eyeing her. They're farther away from her than she is from the outpost, so after a moment's hesitation, she begins to move backwards towards the outpost's gate.

She breathes a small sigh of relief when she hears the gate clink, knowing that means that Elisabeth is inside the fence. The two nykos suddenly start moving towards her, one splitting off to her left to divide her focus. They're definitely making her miss the damned carno.

She increases her speed moving towards the gate, and the nyko directly in front of her charges. She doesn't have time to do much more than aim quickly and fire. The shot clips the nyko's shoulder, slowing it down. That gives her time to fire again, and this time, her aim is better. She puts a giant hole in a nyko for the second time in a minute.

As the thing is falling, she swings to her left, trying to find the third nyko. Unable to spot it, she just starts moving faster towards the outpost. She's almost there when she hears Elisabeth yell, "Alicia, to your right!"

Somehow, the third nyko, or maybe it's a fourth, managed to get to her right side instead of her left, and it's almost on her. She sprints for the gate, knowing she can't get a proper shot off. The nyko catches up with her, and it lashes out, throwing her hard against the outpost gate. The rifle flies out of her hands, and, as she lands hard on the ground, she knows she can't get the sonic rifle off of her shoulder in time. She's also pretty sure her upper right arm was broken in at least one place when she hit the gate.

She tries to stand up to get inside the gate, but before she can get to her feet the nyko is over her, ready to tear her apart. She closes her eyes, images of Nathaniel and Gracie playing behind them, but instead of feeling the expected pain, she hears a rifle blast and another nyko shriek.

The next moment, she feels a soft hand on her, pulling her up. She opens her eyes to see Elisabeth, and she hisses at the pain in her arm. Elisabeth drags her inside the gate and locks it behind them. Finally realizing that she's not dead or dying, Alicia looks out the gate, only to see the last nyko on the ground, blood pouring from its side. She swings around to stare at a visibly shaken Elisabeth, who stands there, slightly wild-eyed, with Alicia's rifle in her hand.

Cautiously, with her right arm held tight to her side, Alicia drops her pack and the sonic rifle from her left shoulder and approaches Elisabeth. When she gets to her, Alicia reaches out with her left hand and takes the rifle from her friend, who appears to be in a little bit of shock. "Elisabeth?"

The smaller woman blinks, and after a moment, she looks owlishly up at Alicia. "It was going to kill you."

"I know. Thank you, Elisabeth. Now, let's get inside the outpost, OK?" Alicia tries to herd Elisabeth inside, difficult without the use of her right arm.

When they finally reach the door, Alicia accidentally bumps her arm against the frame, and she can't suppress the hiss of pain that escapes. That seems to snap Elisabeth out of her fog. "What's wrong?"

"Inside, Elisabeth." Alicia grits her teeth slightly.

The doctor shakes her head and goes back for their packs and the sonic guns. Normally, Alicia would insist on helping her, but suddenly, her head is swimming a little and her arm is throbbing. She goes into the main room of the outpost, a common area of sorts, meaning to head to the large communications setup. Halfway across the room, Alicia changes course and goes to the couch that is nearest to her.

Elisabeth comes into the room, dragging both of their packs behind her. Apparently, she sees Alicia sink slowly down on the couch, because she drops Alicia's pack and runs over. "Alicia, what is wrong? Where are you injured?" As she asks, Elisabeth is opening her own pack, which contains the medical supplies.

Alicia's head is growing progressively fuzzier, and it occurs to her that she must have also hit her head when the nyko threw her into the gate. "Head hurts, and I think my arm is broken." With that, Alicia's eyelids flutter, and she passes out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **This is a long chapter, as it just didn't make sense to break it up.

**Disclaimer wise**, I just wrote this because I enjoy writing, no copyright infringement intended, and I certainly do not own Terra Nova.

"There's the rover!" Reynolds points to the wrecked vehicle a few hundred feet away from them. Nathaniel steers his rover towards it, Carter and Mira following close behind. They both skid to a stop near Alicia's destroyed vehicle, and they all pile out.

"Taylor to Washington, Alicia, do you copy? Taylor to Shannon, Doc, are you there?" When his comm calls are met with silence, Nathaniel looks at Reynolds. "She said they went east?"

"Yes sir, less than a click." Reynolds nods.

"OK. I'm on point, Carter, take the six. Let's move. And eyes peeled for the carno and possibly for nykos." Nathaniel delivers the orders and turns to head east, not waiting for acquiescence. He's nervous now, knowing Alicia would be monitoring the comms. An uneasy feeling settles in his stomach as they move east, not at a run, but still very quickly. He's bone tired; he won't admit it to the others, but he had a long, sleepless night at the outpost, worried about Alicia and Elisabeth.

He shakes his head, focused on the task at hand. At least the path they took is easy to see. He can tell that the carno chased them through here, and he just follows the path of destroyed underbrush and small trees. Not too many minutes later, he sees a rock formation ahead, and he starts looking for a cave entrance. It doesn't take him long to spot it.

He holds his hand up, telling the others to stop. Carter holds back, keeping an eye out for predators, but Mira comes up next to him. "How do we want to do this, Taylor? Wash wouldn't have turned her comm off, and it's too quiet here."

"You and me, approach the cave. He turns to Reynolds and Carter. "Carter, cover me, and Reynolds, cover Mira."

They all acknowledge the orders with a nod, and he and Mira start towards the cave. Looking down for a moment, Nathaniel sees the unmistakable signs that they were here, boot prints headed towards the cave. Most are obliterated, likely by the carno, but some are visible.

He thinks to himself that Mira was right – it's too quiet. He has to swallow hard, afraid of what they might find in the cave. Shaking his head, he continues forward and motions silently to Mira for her to go wide to the other side of the cave entrance.

A moment later, they're at the cave, and, guns up, they both move inside. It takes little time for them to see that it's empty. There are more footprints here, and then he spots a pile of bones and what are clearly dinosaur tracks.

Mira spots the same thing, and she walks over to the bones. She crouches down, examining them. "Small dino, maybe an oviraptor or something like that. Tracks look to be nyko."

"Shit," Nathaniel can't keep from swearing. "I'm sure Alicia saw that and realized that this was not a good place to hole up for the night."

"She was right. Trapped by the carno is one thing, it couldn't get in here. But a nyko? Even just one in a cave like this would be nasty." Mira looks around, "And these bones are not very old, so we need to be on the lookout too."

They both emerge from the cave. Reynolds and Carter look at them expectantly. "They're not here. There's evidence of a nyko, so Alicia must have decided they needed to find a safer place. Carter, try to find tracks. Mira, same thing."

They both nod and go in opposite directions from the cave entrance. It's less than a minute before Carter calls out to them. They all head to his position. "What do you have, Carter?"

"Taylor, it looks like they headed this way. Strides are pretty far apart, so they were likely running. Two sets of prints, both women's boots, one set smaller than the other. It was definitely them." He pauses. "And I think the nykos were here, and they probably followed them."

Getting his bearings, Nathaniel comes to a realization. "They went for the outpost. It's only ten or so miles in the direction the tracks lead."

"That's probably what I would've done," Mira offers.

Nathaniel nods. "Me too. But I wonder why they didn't radio?" He shakes his head, trying to rid himself of one answer to that question that he really doesn't want to consider yet. "Back to the rovers. I think it'll be easier to go to the outpost, and if they aren't there, back track towards here to try to find them."

They all nod, maybe just not wanting to argue with him. The truth is that he's hoping to find them safe and whole at the outpost, with some completely reasonable explanation for not contacting the colony to report in.

**TN**TN**TN**

Alicia awakens slowly, blinking her eyes. She can see through the outpost's windows that it's light out, which means one of two things: she's only been out for a moment, or she's been out all night, and the light she sees is morning.

Trying to stretch, she's feels very stiff. Her right arm is also splinted and secured to her body. Those two facts lead her to the fact that the light outside is, indeed, morning. A check of her watch confirms that. She shakes her head at the thought that it's probably been almost fourteen hours since they got here.

She's still on the couch, and she tries to sit up. It takes her a moment to struggle into a sitting position. She hears a soft sigh, and she looks over at the other couch, across from the one she is on. Elisabeth is asleep there, curled up on her side. Alicia smiles as she thinks about the day before, and she's honestly more than a little surprised that they actually made it here in one piece. She drags herself off of the couch, suddenly realizing that she pretty desperately needs to use the bathroom.

She slips out of the room, careful to not wake Elisabeth. A few minutes later, she returns, feeling much better. In the bathroom, she'd had to cringe at her appearance. Her hair was a mess, face blotchy and dirty. She'd taken a moment to pull her hair from its askew ponytail and comb the fingers of her left hand through it, trying to smooth out the tangled mess. In doing so, she found a decent sized lump on the back of her head. She assumes that to be the cause of her losing the last fourteen hours.

When she comes back into the room where they'd spent the night, Elisabeth is waking up, too. "Good morning, Elisabeth."

Elisabeth yawns and stretches. "Morning, Alicia. How is your head? And your arm?"

Alicia grimaces a little. "I still have a little bit of headache. My arm's sore, but not unbearably so. Have I been out since we got here?"

Elisabeth shakes her head. "No. You woke up once, probably around midnight, but you were still pretty out of it. I'm not surprised that you don't remember. How are you this morning? Any nausea, dizziness or confusion?"

"Other than wondering briefly if it was morning or still yesterday afternoon, no." Alicia looks over at the communications equipment, and it looks a little unorganized. "Did you call Terra Nova, let them know we're OK?"

Looking sheepish, Elisabeth shakes her head again. "I tried, but I couldn't figure out the equipment. I'm sorry, Alicia."

She's about to reply, but at that moment, they both look towards the window when they hear the sound of a rover. Their eyes meet, and they get up at the same moment, moving to the door.

**TN**TN**TN**

Nathaniel sees the roof of the outpost through the trees, and he takes a deep breath, praying that they find Alicia and Elisabeth there. As they get into the more open terrain surrounding the outpost, he realizes that there are a few small dinos in the area. They aren't predators. They are, instead, one of the smaller carnivorous dinos that feed on carcasses left behind by the predators. They're scavengers.

He frowns, afraid of what they are scavenging. Then, a weight lifts slightly as he spots the first dead nyko. A few of the scavengers are perched on it, but they scatter as the rover roars by. As he pulls closer to the outpost, he sees two more nyko carcasses, one a ways from the fence, the other only feet from the gate.

They all get out of the rovers, guns drawn in case other nykos still lurk nearby. He approaches the gate, looking for any signs of movement. He doesn't see anything but the small scavengers returning to their breakfasts. The one thing he does see is a lot of blood on the ground, but there's no way to tell whether it came from just the dead nykos or from a human as well.

He crouches down by the carcass near the gate, and he sees a gunshot wound in its side, clearly made by a rifle. He can hear Carter, Mira and Reynolds coming up behind him. He's about to look back at them when he hears a sound from inside the gate. He looks up in time to see the door to the outpost open, and he releases a sigh of relief at the sight that greets his eyes.

**TN**TN**TN**

Alicia beats Elisabeth to the door of the outpost, but not by much. She unlocks it and pushes it open, stepping out into the morning sunlight. When she does, she breathes, "Oh, thank God," at the sight of Nathaniel crouched by the third dead nyko with Reynolds, Carter and Mira not far behind him.

As she rushes towards the gate, their eyes meet. He's up in a flash, and he gets to the gate just as she flings it open. A second later, he's crushing her to him. As much as she'd love to stay wrapped in his arms, her face pressed into his neck, she can't help but whimper at the pain that shoots through her right arm from the pressure of his embrace. Without hesitation, she simply squeaks, "Broken arm!"

He immediately releases her, contrition in his eyes. She looks up at him, a game smile on her face. "Hi."

He chuckles a little, shaking his head and cupping her cheek with his hand. "Hi, Alicia." He notices Elisabeth behind Alicia. "Hi, Doc. How are you?"

Before she can respond, Reynolds rushes forward and hugs his future mother-in-law. She laughs softly. "I'm all right, thanks to Alicia."

Mira and Carter both join them, relieved looks on their faces. Carter smirks and raises an eyebrow at Alicia, who is now leaned into Nathaniel with her good side, letting him gently comb his hand through her hair. "Rough day, Wash?"

She rolls her eyes. "Oh, about average, Carter. Got attacked by a carno, ran ten or eleven miles with full gear while being stalked by nykos, killed two of them and got tossed by a third into a gate. Nothing major."

Mira looks puzzled. "You killed _two _nykos? What happened to the third one?"

Alicia grins. "Ask Elisabeth."

"Doc?" Mira and the rest of them look at Elisabeth.

She blinks and reddens slightly. "Well, when it threw Alicia against the gate, her rifle was knocked out of her hands. I just picked it up and used it, and I happened into a lucky shot."

"I owe you one, Elisabeth." Alicia's smile is soft now, grateful.

"Nonsense, Alicia. You were only still out there because you were giving me time to get inside the fence. I may have saved you, but you saved me first." She walks over and takes Alicia's good hand in hers.

Reynolds clears his throat. They look at him, and he hesitates before asking, "Why didn't you radio anyone, at least the colony, to let us know you were safe?"

Alicia looks at Elisabeth with a wry expression. Reynolds follows Alicia's eyes and says, "Dr. Shannon?"

Elisabeth appears upset. "Alicia hit her head when the nyko threw her against the gate. She made it inside, but she passed out shortly after. I did try to radio, but I've never had training on the more complicated communications equipment. I couldn't figure out how to make it work properly. I'm sorry I made everyone worry unnecessarily. Alicia had just woken up when we heard your rovers arrive."

Nathaniel looks down at Alicia, concern all over his face. "You were out all night?"

"Pretty much. Elisabeth said I woke up once, but I don't remember that. Frankly, the time between passing out last night and waking up fifteen minutes ago is a blank. Not a big surprise, given the egg-sized lump on the back of my head."

"At worst, Taylor, I'd say she has a mild concussion. But she's fine." Elisabeth tries to reassure him.

"And what about your arm?" His voice is still concerned, his eyes the same.

"Also from being thrown against the gate. I'm hoping it's not too bad." Alicia winces a little when her arm gives her a well-timed twinge.

Elisabeth adds, "I think it's just a hairline fracture to the humerus, but I won't know until I get her under a scanner."

"And what about this?" Nathaniel points to the slightly bloody bandage covering the cut on Alicia's other arm.

Alicia sighs. "That's just a cut, Nathaniel. Got it when the rover got wrecked." She pauses, reaching up with her left hand to pull his head down so she can press her forehead to his before continuing softly, "I'm OK, Nathaniel. I promise."

"Not to break up this little party, but can we get your stuff and head home?" They all turn to look at Mira. "Nykos often travel in pretty sizeable numbers. These three may have friends. I'd rather not linger."

Nathaniel looks up and nods. "Reynolds, go with the doc to gather up their things, and radio Terra Nova to let them know we have them and they're OK. I'll get Alicia to a rover."

As Reynolds and Elisabeth go into the outpost, Alicia arches an eyebrow at Nathaniel. "You'll _get _me to a rover?"

Carter and Mira laugh, and Mira mutters, "Maybe not the best choice of words, Taylor. We'll be in our rover." With that, Carter and Mira head over to one of the rovers.

"Sorry, Alicia. I'm in protective mode, and you're just going to have to put up with it." He tries to look apologetic, but he doesn't quite pull it off. Once they're alone, he surprises her by leaning down and pressing his lips to hers. She can tell he wants to be more aggressive but doesn't want to hurt her any further. So, she grips at his shirt just below his body armor, deepening the kiss, and his hand goes into her hair, pressing her tighter to him while still being careful of her broken arm.

At that moment, Reynolds and Elisabeth emerge from the outpost, Elisabeth with her own pack and Reynolds with Alicia's and the weapons. Reynolds freezes, but Elisabeth just clears her throat, making them pull apart and grin at Elisabeth, who laughs.

Reynolds, on the other hand, blushes bright red. He turns and pulls the outpost door closed, and when he turns back to Nathaniel, he can't quite meet his eyes. "That's everything, sir. How are we splitting up for the ride home?"

Nathaniel chuckles, clearly entertained by their ability to mortify Reynolds. "Mira and Carter have their own ride. Elisabeth, do you mind riding up front with Reynolds?"

Elisabeth smiles. "That's fine, Taylor."

Reynolds and Elisabeth head towards the other rover, loading the packs and rifles. Nathaniel lets Alicia exit the gate in front of him, then he follows and pulls it closed behind them, making sure it latches tight. Alicia watches him. "You don't have to let Reynolds drive. Elisabeth and I can ride in back."

He shakes his head and wraps his arm around her. Being careful of her broken arm this time, he steers her towards the rovers. "I don't mind letting him drive, and I'm going to be touching you continuously for a while. You've really got to stop scaring me like this."

"I'm sorry, Nathaniel. You know I had to make Mark leave us – I didn't have a choice. How's Dr. Warner, by the way?" She asks her question as they get to the rover, and Elisabeth looks up, also wanting to know.

"I do know, and I'm not upset with you about that. As for Dr. Warner, when we checked in with Terra Nova last night, they reported that he's going to be fine." He says the second part loud enough for Elisabeth to hear, and she smiles and looks relieved at the news.

Reynolds stands by the rover waiting for them, and, batting Nathaniel's attempt to help her away, Alicia climbs carefully into the back. After shedding his body armor and handing it to Reynolds to stow in the back, Nathaniel follows her, chuckling at her slightly cranky attitude with him. He settles on her left side, and before she can protest, he pulls her into him.

She decides that fighting him isn't worth it, but she isn't above giving him a hard time. "You know, both of us would yell at any of our soldiers for choosing not to wear body armor."

"You're not wearing yours, either."

"Really? That's your comeback? 'You're not wearing yours, so I don't have to wear mine?' What are you, eight?" She grins at him.

"Shut up, Lieutenant. That's an order." That earns him a muffled laugh from Reynolds and an outright snort from both Elisabeth and Alicia.

She makes him wince by poking him hard in the side. Then, she wraps her left arm around his waist and snuggles into his chest. "Yes, sir."

Nathaniel laughs. "See, Reynolds? She follows orders just like I told you she does." She gives him another poke in the side, this one even harder, making him emit an "Oof."

Reynolds isn't able to muffle his laugh this time. "Yes, sir. I see that."

Alicia laughs softly, and he slips his hand into her hair and drops a kiss to her forehead. Despite being out for fourteen hours the night before, she's still tired. Within in minutes of them getting underway, she's out again, lulled to sleep by the vibration of the rover and his hand running methodically through her hair.

**TN**TN**TN**

She literally doesn't wake up again until she hears Reynolds on the radio telling the colony that they're ten minutes out. As she struggles into a sitting position, she realizes that Nathaniel is also just waking up. Elisabeth turns in her seat, grinning. "Did you two have a nice nap?"

They both laugh, unable to deny that they were both sound asleep. She looks at Nathaniel, an eyebrow raised. "So, I know I slept the whole way, but how long were you out?"

He blinks. "You know, I'm pretty sure I went out pretty soon after you did."

Still facing them from the front, Elisabeth nods. "You did. You lasted maybe ten minutes longer than she did, tops." With another smile, Elisabeth turns back towards the front, and they can hear her talking quietly with Reynolds.

Alicia tries to stretch as well as she can in the confines of the back seat, and then she turns to look at him a little suspiciously. "OK, I know why I was so tired, head injury and all, but what about you?"

He shrugs a little. "I didn't know if you were all right. I don't sleep well when I don't know if you're all right. Throw being worried about Elisabeth too into the mix, and, well, I pretty much didn't sleep at all."

Her eyes soften at his admission, and she leans over and kisses him. "I love you, Nathaniel."

"I love you, too."

A moment later, Elisabeth turns around again. "You know you need to go to the infirmary before going home, Alicia." Alicia nods reluctantly. "Do you want us to go straight there instead of stopping at the gate?"

"No!" Alicia is emphatic, surprising Elisabeth. Nathaniel doesn't look surprised at all, so she guesses he knows what she's going to say. "It will scare Gracie, Elisabeth. Since she was old enough to understand when I leave and come back, I haven't come back with any serious injuries. She's going to be upset enough by the fact that we were both gone last night, which has never happened before. We can't compound that."

"Understood. I didn't think about it that way. But we do still need to go." Elisabeth gives her a stern look.

"And I will, Elisabeth – just walking, not roaring in like it's some sort of emergency."

Elisabeth nods and turns back to the front again. "I'll hold you to that, Alicia."

As they roar through the gate, Alicia is getting antsy. She didn't realize how much she wants to see Gracie until right now. Nathaniel, as usual, reads her like a book. He reaches out and takes her hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She looks up at him and gives him a weak smile.

They roll to a stop a moment later, and Elisabeth and Reynolds jump out, and Nathaniel slides out as well. He holds a hand out to her, and this time, she lets him help her. As she steps away from the vehicle, she hears a cry of, "Down, Maddy!"

Alicia and Nathaniel both turn towards the cry, and they see Maddy Shannon putting Gracie down. Then, she's just a little black-haired blur heading for them. Nathaniel, likely knowing it would be hard for Alicia to do the same, leans down and catches her when she gets close to him. He lifts her up into his arms, and Alicia hears her say, "Daddy home" as she clings to him.

He turns and brings Gracie to Alicia. Gracie immediately reaches for Alicia, and Alicia takes her from Nathaniel with her left arm. Gracie latches on to her, wrapping her little arms around Alicia's neck, making it easier for Alicia to hold her with one arm. "Mama."

Alicia kisses her forehead. "Hi, my Bug. I missed you."

"Missed Mama and Daddy. We go home now? Gwacie want go home."

Alicia's heart breaks a little at their little girl's request, knowing they have to go to the infirmary first. "Bug, not yet. Mama has to go with Aunt Elisabeth to the infirmary. Then we can go home."

Gracie's arms tighten around Alicia's neck. "Mama sick?"

"No, little Bug. I'm not sick, I just fell down and hurt my arm. Aunt Elisabeth wants to make sure it's OK." As she speaks, her eyes meet Elisabeth's, and, wrapped in Jim's arms with Maddy, Zoe and Josh nearby, Elisabeth nods, indicating that she heard Alicia.

"Gwacie stay with Mama, and Daddy come too." The girl's arms remain locked around Alicia's neck, and her words are almost a command. Happily, neither she nor Nathaniel has any desire to countermand the order.

**TN**TN**TN**

A couple of hours later, Alicia climbs out of the shower, the hot water doing wonders for her aching body. Between the run yesterday and being thrown against the gate, she feels like one big bruise. It's quiet outside the bathroom door, and Alicia assumes that Nathaniel has finally gotten Gracie settled down for a nap.

She hopes so. The child was clearly tired; she'd had a small meltdown in the infirmary when she had to let go of Alicia. Nathaniel had calmed her then, but even so, she'd been sniffling and clinging to Nathaniel the entire time Elisabeth was checking Alicia over.

Before they left the infirmary, Elisabeth had hugged Alicia. They've already made plans for lunch tomorrow, and, when Alicia's broken arm is healed, for Alicia to give Elisabeth shooting lessons. She also knows that Elisabeth is making Reynolds teach her how to use the communications equipment. Alicia makes a mental note that all science or medical staff needs the latter training.

When they got home, Alicia sat down with Gracie in a rocking chair one of the colonists had given them back when Alicia was pregnant. Alicia had insisted that Nathaniel shower first. While he got cleaned up, Alicia rocked with Gracie in her lap, Gracie clearly fighting falling asleep the whole time.

As she pulls on a pair of sweats and a t-shirt, she's startled by the bathroom door opening. She looks up to see Nathaniel slip in. "She's out, but I couldn't get her to settle anywhere but in our bed. I think, in her two-year-old brain, that's the way to keep us here – sleeping in our bed."

"You don't seem surprised by it." She arches an eyebrow at him as she runs a quick comb through her hair.

He looks a little nervous. "I'm not. I didn't mention it before because I don't want you to worry, but every time you've gone OTG lately, she climbs into bed with me. I think it's just her way of feeling safe."

Alicia laughs softly, clearly surprising him. "Man, we are the biggest pair of pushovers in the colony."

He looks puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"She does the same thing to me when you're OTG. I know I shouldn't let her, but I can't stand it when she's scared." She looks a little sheepish.

With a laugh, he gently pulls her to him, careful of her arm. "If I didn't know better, I'd say she was playing us, but I think she really does get scared when we go."

"Me too. And I kind of like the company when you're gone, as silly as that sounds." She presses her face into his neck. "What's happened to us? Didn't we used to be tough and stoic?"

"Well," he laughs, "I don't know if I was ever all that stoic, but as for the tough thing, I'm pretty sure what happened to us is napping in our bed right now, stuffed brachiosaurus in hand."

"Touché." She leans back to look at his face. "And this is going to sound even sillier, but how would you feel about joining her?"

He grins and presses a kiss to her forehead. "I like that idea very much."

She returns his smile, and they head for their bedroom. Alicia crawls into bed behind Gracie, curling up on her good side. Immediately, Gracie turns over and snuggles into Alicia's chest. Nathaniel gets in on the other side, and he scoots close to them, putting his arm across Gracie and over Alicia's waist. Their eyes meet over Gracie's head, and they share a smile. In minutes, they're both asleep too, wrapped around Gracie and each other.


End file.
